After celebrating the Raiders by highlighting their players who could someday be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we flip the script to give you the Las Vegas Hall of Shame.
Allen, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, was one of the best players in franchise history. In 11 seasons with the Raiders, the running back made five Pro Bowls, won Super Bowl XVIII MVP and was 1985 league MVP. He's also the organization's all-time rushing leader with 8,545 yards and rushing 79 TDs.
However, Allen and Raiders owner Al Davis engaged in a feud that resulted in a diminished role for the running back during his final seasons with the team. Davis brought in RBs Bo Jackson, Roger Craig and Eric Dickerson as competition for Allen, who at one point was fourth on the depth chart.
During an interview with Al Michaels in 1992, Allen said Davis "had attempted to ruin his career."
Miffed, Allen signed with divisional-rival Kansas City in free agency in 1993. In his first season with the Chiefs, he made the Pro Bowl and tied a career high with 12 rushing TDs.
The Raiders, who fell in love with Russell's size (6-foot-6, 265 pounds) and big arm, selected him with the first overall pick of the 2007 NFL Draft, one spot ahead of wide receiver Calvin Johnson, a future HOFer.
Russell, however, lacked the maturity to be a viable starting QB. During an interview with Sports Illustrated in 2011, he even admitted that he frequently fell asleep in team meetings.
Russell's lack of focus contributed to poor on-field performances. In 31 games, he completed 52.1 percent of his passes and threw more interceptions (23) than TDs (18). Russell went 7-18 as a starter and never played in the NFL again after the 2009 season.
Brown is the textbook case of a player turning one big game into a lucrative payday. In Super Bowl XXX with Dallas, Brown earned MVP after his two interceptions lifted the Cowboys to a 27-17 victory over the Steelers. In free agency that offseason, he signed a six-year, $12.5M deal with the Raiders.
Brown, however, only started one game and played in only 12 over two seasons with the Raiders. The team released him in 1998, replacing him with Charles Woodson, a future Hall of Famer.
The Raiders have a penchant for controversial endings — remember the "Immaculate Reception" game? — but their 16-13 loss to the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs tops the list of worst losses by a whisker.
With less than two minutes to go in a game played in snowy weather, Woodson knocked down QB Tom Brady, forcing a fumble recovered by the Raiders. After a review, the call was overturned because of the so-called "Tuck Rule," which was abolished in 2013. Afterward, the Patriots set up an Adam Vinatieri field goal that sent the game into overtime.
Twenty years after the game, even Brady said the tuck play "might have been a fumble."
For Raiders fans, the loss still stings. Ironically, Brady now owns a small stake in the Raiders.
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